Hurt My Child?

I always note the day. Each year on the first Monday of
October the United States Supreme Court begins its session.

A wave of anxiety annually washes over me as I think of how
lives and futures of countless Americans will be changed by decisions placed in
the hands of nine people. I have fretted over affirmative action for colleges,
reproductive rights for rural women, and how hard the court might make the
rules for any sexual harassment victim to get justice.

Five years ago, when the freedom to marry for same sex
couples case—Obergefell v. Hodges—- was to be decided, our law firm
was fighting the same cause in the Midwest courts on behalf of seven couples who
sought to protect their relationships and their rights. Rulings from the black robed and too often
ivory towered intellectuals in our top court feel personal when those impacted
are people you care about deeply like your clients.

“Don’t take things personally” I tell myself. One of
Don Miguel Ruiz’s Four Agreements for living wisely, it’s a principle I believe
in. It’s a perspective I encourage others to hold. But this year, on the first Monday in October, I struggled to
apply it.

The court on Tuesday heard arguments to determine whether
transgender employees are protected from discrimination under Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act. The court will decide whether employers in our country have
the legal right to hurt my child.

My child graduated with recognition from a community
college, a state university, and Harvard Law School. He got his first job when he was a teen and
has worked hard ever since. He has served in our military, fought wildfires in
our forests, and been a public servant on Navajo Nation reservation. Still, the
Supreme Court will have the power to deprive him of his dignity in the
workplace.

These judges will decide if my youngest can lawfully be
demoted, paid less than the person working alongside him, harassed, or fired.
They can declare whether he can be hired for his dream job or even get a chance
to interview for it.

The decision to be made feels personal because it’s my
child. Yet there are over a million transgender Americans who will be impacted,
along with their co-workers who risk losing valued team members and their families
who risk losing financial support.

The ruling of the court will not be personal. But the
implications for my child and my transgender friends are. My hope is that the justices imagine for a
moment what it would feel like to be this mom on the first Monday in October.